A Tail for Two
by ToxiNeena
Summary: Chapter 6: Even though she was from the future, she was still Lucy, and seeing her like this, seeing her cry, seeing her shake uncontrollably, seeing her so sad…it broke something inside of him.
1. Nothing Compares to Your Embrace

_**Okay, so I'm starting this series of one-shots. There's not going to be a huge plot-line, just little snippets and glances at the meaningful moments of Natsu and Lucy. Remember to read, enjoy and review! Please, please, do review, I'd appreciate it oh, so very much! Also, As you can see, I'm trying to base these one-shots after stanzas from songs or poems or even quotes. If you have an idea, or a request, put it in your review of PM me about it. I'll try to get around to all of them :)**_

* * *

_**Chapter 1:** Nothing Compares to Your Embrace_

_**Rate:** T_

* * *

_And oh, _

_I'm running to your arms, _

_I'm running to your arms. _

_The riches of your love, _

_Will always be enough. _

_Nothing compares to your embrace._

* * *

"_Lucy!_"

A furious, terrifying, crippling screech tore through the air of the Syth Wolves' guild. Not long after, the large double-wooden doors were kicked in, the wood splintering and smashing clean across the room into the wall. A figure doused in flames strode in; finger's twitching to punch a hole through anything that dared to so much as _breathe_ in his presence.

Members of the unfortunate guild gawked, absolutely stunned, glancing back and forth between the ruined door and the maniac that stood in their doorway.

His dark green eyes flashed, narrowed and then sparked. "Where's Lucy?"

No one spoke; they all eyed him warily.

"_Where's Lucy?_" he repeated, sending a blast of searing flames in the loose form of a fist sailing into the wall next to him, almost like he was punching the stone. "_Where's my nakama?_"

One brave, or foolish, depending on the perspective, mage of the Syth Wolves, with his guild symbol on his left cheek, cleared his throat. "Y-you're Salamander, aren't you?"

Natsu Dragneel, known as Salamander to various guilds, gritted his teeth, and fixed his frightening gaze on the outspoken member, who reeled back, as if he'd been stung. He might as well have been though; Natsu's gaze was more piercing than Erza's finest sword. The dragon slayer stalked over, the air around him crackling like fireworks, and grabbed the man by the collar of his silk shirt.

"Where is she?" his tone was low and flames began to eat away at the man's shirt.

The Syth Wolf shrieked, terrified, and squirmed.

"Natsu! Control yourself!" a female voice commanded.

Robotically, Natsu released his prisoner and looked over his shoulder at Erza, fully equipped in her Purgatory Armor. The fact that she was wearing it voiced that she, too, wished nothing more than to take apart this dirty guild brick by damn brick. It was too bad that she happened to be sensible.

Natsu's flames pulsed, anger seeping through his veins, eyes wild.

"We know you're angry Natsu, believe me, we feel it too," Gray announced, next to Erza, "but don't lose yourself." He removed his shirt, flexing various muscles before absent-mindedly cracking every single knuckle on both of his hands. "They'll get what's coming to them soon enough."

Behind Gray, Juvia marveled at the sight of her beloved, blushing fiercely, before shaking her head and plastering on her battle face. "Juvia will help as well, even though Lucy her rival."

Other members of Fairy Tail, who had stormed into the guild mess hall after Natsu had stomped down the doors, began pitching in their two cents as well. Erza, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, Happy, Charle, Bisca, Alzack, Cana, Gildarts, Gajeel, Levy, Pantherlilly, Jet, Droy, Reedus, Freed, Evergreen, Bickslow, Laxus, Mira, Lisanna, Elfman, Mickey, Nab, Vijeeter, Wakaba, Warren, Krov, Niggy, Tono, Max, Laki, Mikuni, Chico, Wang, Joy, Kinana, Macao, Romeo, Loke and even the old man, Makarov. They were all here, the rest of his nakama, every single member of Fairy Tail, no matter their level of strength. Natsu felt his sanity returning slightly; the fire in his hands thrived with purpose this time, and not with solely anger.

They were here to save Lucy, to avenge whatever these bastards had done to her. They would _all_ have their chances to smash the Syth Wolves into dust.

"Natsu-san," another man's voice began, Loke's voice, "Lucy-sama is in the upper area of the guild. One of the towers to be exact." The spirit's jaw clenched, his teeth grinding. He'd seen what they'd done to Lucy—he'd seen her battered face, torn clothes and bound ligaments. He'd seen her ever-strong gaze as well, fighting through the terror of being held captive. "Go and save her," Loke ordered, casting the dragon slayer a firm, steady gaze.

The only one to save Lucy would be Natsu, Loke realized this.

Meanwhile, the Syth Wolf with the now singed silk shirt dashed to the front of the room. "What are you standing around for, Syth Wolves?" he shouted, outraged, catching the attention of his fellow guild members. "They've declared war! Attack!"

The rest of the members snapped out of their initial shock, and started giving hollers of agreement. The air began permeating with the promise of battle as mages from both sides prepared various weapons, runes and spells.

"Hmph," Makarov snorted, eyes closed, arms crossed. "These are the brats that decided to kidnap one of my children?" his eyes flashed open, a fury greater than Natsu had ever seen burning in their depths; it almost rivaled his own anger. "In Fairy Tail," the Master began, addressing the members of the Syth Wolves, "we have a motto. 'Always give back ten-fold what you've been given'…and I'll say that you've given us quite the bit of heartache. It's time for the repayment." Makarov fixed his angry glare on the enemies in the room before slowly expanding himself into an intimidating height and stature. "Fairy Tail, charge!"

Then, in a flurry of fists, spells, and screams, the guilds collided head-on.

.

.

.

The sounds of battle reached Lucy's ears. At first, they were nearly inaudible—the occasional screech here and there, the clang of metal ever once in a while—but now the sounds were stronger, till they sounded like they were directly outside the room that she was being kept in.

"What in the damn blazes…" her captor, the Master of the Syth Wolves, hissed, curious as to what was going on directly below his feet. "Did you call for your guild?" he snarled, staring Lucy down.

She blinked up at him, feeling sore and too tired to really make an argument. She had been kept in this room for two days, without food or water or even the opportunity to use the restroom—she was very thankful she had such good control over her bladder—sitting in a chair. Her wrists were bound behind the neck on the furniture while her each of her ankles were tied to a leg. Frankly, she was just tired.

"I said, did you call for your guild?" he demanded again, stepping closer to her.

Lucy wrinkled her nose at his close proximity, and again, said nothing.

Frustrated, the man grabbed her face, squishing her cheeks with one of his massive hands and practically crushing her jaw. "Answer me!" His grip tightened and tightened till the female mage whined in discomfort. She was pretty sure she'd heard a crack.

"How…" she started, but choked off when his grip didn't falter. "How could I call for them? You've taken all of my keys."

"That wouldn't stop you, I'm sure, you conniving fairy." He released her face, throwing it to the side harshly.

This wasn't good. Fairy Tail was one of the worst guilds to provoke…but they weren't supposed to know that she had been kidnapped in the first place. He was sure that he'd left no evidence behind Lucy's disappearance. He'd even gone to her apartment and made sure.

So what had tipped them off?

How had they found her so easily?

He glanced down at the girl again, seeing her head loll to the side in exhaustion.

"Wait…" he muttered, eyeing her again. There was no way that a mage of her stature should be exhausted after only two days.

Then, the puzzle pieces clicked into place for him.

She was a celestial spirit mage, one who _communicated_ with the spirit world through the use of magic. If her magic was depleted after such a short time…she had to have had contact with the spirit realm, meaning, she tipped off one of her spirits, even without the keys.

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" he laughed, placing one of his hands on the top of her head.

Lucy stiffened. She didn't like this man's touch, it made her skin crawl as if ants had decided to invade her clothes.

"I've done my research on you. I know you've got that unusually special spirit with you that tends to appear on his own. What's his name? Leo?" His fingers drummed on her scalp, creating a distinct rhythm.

The spirit mage's blood chilled.

"So you told him where you were, did you? Through spiritual communication? I've heard that takes up quite a bit of magical power if you don't bother with the keys…"

Then, suddenly, Lucy felt herself sprawling forwards, still attached to the chair. Her face and shoulder collided with the cold, stone floor. She yelped, feeling her shoulder dislocate completely and blood trickled slowly into her eye. She'd probably gouged a good chunk out of her forehead.

The Master of the Syth Wolves placed his booted heel on the back of the chair, just above Lucy's bound wrists. "You see? This is why you should accept my offer. Join the Syth Wolves and I promise the pain will stop."

The Syth Wolves had no celestial spirit mages, Lucy knew. After all, they were quite hard to come by. But she, Lucy Heartfilia, was the one who was lucky enough to possess nearly all of the Twelve Zodiac Keys—the rarest, more powerful keys to be found. This made her a powerful, unique ally as no one else could possibly use the same attacks as she did.

It was for these reasons that she, and Fairy Tail, were thrown into this mess. It was all about power. Power, power, power. "You're…asking me to abandon my nakama? My guild? _Fairy Tail?_" From her spot on the floor, in pain, she scoffed, "That's like asking an aristocrat to wrestle with a pig."

Furious at her downright refusal for the _billionth_ time, the Master raised his boot, ready to smash clean through the chair and crush her spine.

But the door burst open before he could follow through.

It was a Syth Wolves member, though, it would have been impossible to tell him apart from a lowly street urchin had he not had the very visible guild marking on his left cheek. His silken clothes were torn, burnt and covered in grime. His hair, which had been previously well kept, was a fray of disaster with chunks missing here and there. And his face…well, it looked as if his face had taken the brunt of the beating he'd received—swelling around the eyes, bruises, gashes, missing teeth and more.

"M-Master!" he cried, completely alarmed.

"What?" the Master snapped. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of negotiating?" He lowered his foot back onto the back of Lucy's chair, folding his arms across his chest.

"But—but…_he's_ here!"

"He? Who?"

The member shivered. "Salamander…"

At this, Lucy's heart soared. "Natsu…" she murmured, beginning to smile. He had come for her! He had really come for her!

"_S-Salamander?_" the Master repeated. "Salamander was supposed to be away on a mission! I made sure!"

"But, Master, he's down there right now demanding you return the celestial spirit mage!"

"Dammit!" Everything was going wrong, very, very wrong. None of this was going according to the plan. "Evacuate. Leave the wounded behind."

Stunned, the member began to protest. "But…Master…"

"But nothing!" the Master boomed, inflicting a flinch on the battered Syth Wolves member.

"_Not only would you kidnap my nakama…but you would abandon your own as well?_" a deathly low voice growled from the entryway, just behind the member clad in what used to be a silk shirt. Natsu Dragneel, Salamander, shoved the member aside, who didn't bother looking back and ran to seek shelter.

"Natsu…" Lucy managed to look upwards at him from an awkward angle.

Natsu's heart and breathing stopped. Lucy was tied to a chair that was tipped over, a deep scratch on her face that oozed along with plenty of other scrapes and bruises, not to mention her attire…her clothes barely covered herself. The fury that Natsu had experienced back in the mess hall roared to life again with renewed passion. Lucy. They'd hurt Lucy. They'd ripped her clothes, scratched her skin, taken her weapons…and yet she was smiling up at him, all sun-shiny and bright.

"Lucy…" Natsu murmured, his voice about to crack. He whirled on her captor, the Master of the Syth Wolves, fire engulfing his entire form, blazing brighter than ever. "_How dare you!_"

Without thinking, he charged, flailing his arms and legs in fury.

"_Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!_"

The flames on his arms flared, engorging to twice the amount than was usual, before he began taking swipes at his opponent. It wasn't long before one connected squarely on the Master's jaw and Natsu felt bones smashing underneath his fist. Good. He was only getting warmed up.

"S-Salamander-san," the Master squealed, drawing back with a hand cradling his jaw, "wait! Wait, I'm sure we can negotiate, right? There's nothing a civilized talk can't solve, right?"

"Negotiate?" Natsu echoed, enraged. "You trample over my nakama and then wish to _negotiate?_" his eyes darkened, veins on his face showing clearly, teeth grinding audibly. He locked gazes with the Master of the Syth Wolves, who shivered and recoiled on the spot.

This Salamander was even more scary in person. This exceeded any of the stories.

Natsu charged again.

.

.

.

Lucy watched the scene before her with wide eyes, previous exhaustion vanished. Natsu was beating the Master to a pulp, and he wasn't even trying. The Dragon Slayer was relieving his pent up anger and frustration without thinking properly, and it wasn't costing him anything. She supposed it just had to show for how strong Natsu was. There was hardly anything that rivaled him in terms of brute strength and willpower—save Elfman.

"_Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon's Fist!_"

Natsu delivered rapid-fire punches with the strength of ten men, all of them connecting in the same spot. Then, he wound his arm backwards, and executed the final blow, which sent the Master of the Syth Wolves flying, his back smashing through the back wall and his body tumbling outside of the tower and plummeting into the moat below.

Natsu stood silently, panting, hands clenching and unclenching as if he still had the urge to punch something. Then, he straightened and whirled around, finding Lucy gazing at him. She smiled.

"Lucy…" Natsu exclaimed, dashing over, ignoring any injuries that he may or may not have had. He knelt by her, taking in the damage with wide eyes. The anger in his stomach boiled again. He was glad he had beaten every member of the Syth Wolves into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp. Any less and he wouldn't have been satisfied.

Gingerly, he tugged on the knot that held her wrists, then worked on her ankles. It took only seconds before she was freed and pulled into his arms, the chair uncaringly pushed aside. He crushed her to him. He needed to feel her, to make sure she was in one piece, to make she was all there.

"Ouch!" Lucy squirmed in his embrace.

Startled, Natsu pulled her back—she was holding her shoulder. Now that he looked at it, it was swollen and turning a nasty shade of blue and brown. He knew the look far too well; she'd somehow managed to dislocate her shoulder.

"Wendy will fix that right up," he soothed, placing a hand along the bruises on her jawline. The more he saw these countless injuries, the more he hated himself. Because he hadn't been watching, because he hadn't been close to her, she'd been snatched from right under his nose. And he'd found out from Loke, of all people. This was all his fault. "Lucy…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Lucy blinked. "Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"This is all my fault!" he cried in anguish.

Their gazes met and Lucy inhaled sharply, she'd never seen Natsu look more…helpless. He looked down again at his hands.

"How in the world is this your fault? If I recall, I was _kidnapped_, not sold off," she huffed, shaking her head. Sometimes, he could be so unreasonable.

"You were kidnapped because I wasn't there…"

"Oh? Getting mighty full of yourself, aren't you?"

Natsu didn't laugh at her playful tone.

Lucy sighed. "Natsu," she used her good arm to place her hand underneath his chin and gently angle his face to make eye contact, "thank you. Thank you for saving me." She smiled again. And then, much to his utter surprise, she planted a sweet, meaningful kiss that translated all of her feelings onto his cheek. Love. Warm, bright, sun-shiny-like-her-smile, love.

Natsu stopped breathing for the second time that day.

Lucy pulled back, still smiling, and giggled at his expression. He could be so cute sometimes—other times he was a ruthless, blundering idiot.

The Dragon Slayer reached out, fingers ghosting over the skin of her shoulders, and then yanked her back to his body. He was mindful of her injured shoulder this time and he gently burrowed his head into her neck. Lucy was here, Lucy was alright, Lucy was _safe_. He couldn't have felt more lucky.

As he coddled her closely, wanting nothing more than to simply feel her breathing in his arms, he knew that considering all the hugs _anyone_ had given him previously, nothing compared to her embrace.

* * *

_**Too cheesy? Maybe. Even if you have negative thoughts, review! It'll help me in the future! Don't you want to be a kind, helping neighbor? Yes, yes you do :) So click on that button!**_


	2. A Woman Like You

_**Okay,** yeah,** I took forever to update! Shame on me. But, I lost the work I had done because my laptop had water damage...gr. Anyway, hope you like! Read and review! Please! Bitte! Por favor! S'il vous plaît! If I have to say it 30 times in 30 different languages, I will. You have been warned. So review!**_

_**Warning! Extreme no-plot fluff ahead.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 2: **A Woman Like You  
_

_**Rated: **K+  
_

* * *

_I'd take a gold band on my hand _

_Over bein' a single man_

'_Cause honestly, I don't know what I'd do_

_If I'd never met a woman like you_

* * *

It was a question out of the blue, really. Just something that had come up and tumbled out of her mouth that night as they laid together, snuggling into pillows and staring into each other's faces. It had been a relatively good day—they'd aced their mission, got paid, had a real treat for dinner and then come home for some much needed downtime. They were supposed to be relaxing, falling asleep—Natsu was already halfway there—but she suddenly found her mind wandering. And then there was that question. She didn't even know why she asked. But, before she could think twice:

"What would you be doing if you'd never met me?"

Her voice was soft spoken in the hours of the night, nothing more than a small whisper. But, of course, Natsu heard her clearly, as if she had shouted it with a bullhorn. Startled, he opened his eyes, wondering why she would even think of a question like that. He was met with an embarrassed-looking Lucy, her eyes downcast as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

He snorted, replying with a tired, "I don't know."

Lucy frowned.

And then Natsu did as well—apparently, that was not the answer she was looking for. She huffed, turning up her nose with a sniff, before turning over and giving him a nice view of her back.

Natsu yawned and scratched the back of his head, now half-worried as to how to fix the current situation. He'd heard from Gildarts that women loved mushy, lovey talk—as disgusting and revolting and totally _non-manly_ as that was—so perhaps this was that time to dig down really deep and say something half-meaningful? As if he'd actually put some thought into it? He frowned, eyebrows furrowing. Deep thinking—well, it _sounded_ like something Lucy would like.

"Luce, honestly," he started, quite unsure as to how this whole thing would play out. He saw her perk; she was listening. And then he began listing the first things that came to mind.

"I'd probably do a lot more fishing," he admitted, hearing the way she scoffed and muttered:

"You do enough fishing as it is."

"I'd go for poker on Tuesday nights," the dragonslayer mused.

Lucy grumped something again, probably about "wasting money" and whatnot, but she let him continue.

"I'd have more than one pillow."

To this, she replied with, "I'm saving your neck. Too many pillows are bad for you."

"I'd keep my money in an empty can."

Lucy snorted with a small, repressed laugh. "You did," she pointed out, "You did before we got married."

"I'd have never heard of yoga."

"Who hasn't heard of yoga?" she questioned, arching a brow.

"I'd definitely eat more."

"I keep you from getting fat. You're welcome," she smartly retorted, grinning to herself. And even with her back turned to him, she could tell he was smiling too.

Natsu reached out and draped his arms around her waist to pull her closer. Lucy sighed in content when their skin touched and easily let her body be roped closer to his till her back was flush against his bare chest and their legs were tangled together. He rested his chin on the crown of her head, fingers locking around her midsection directly above her navel.

"You know that I'd get in a lot more fights," Natsu breathed. "That I'd spend more time with Gray, Gajeel or Laxus, and that I'd still be living with my laundry thrown on the floor."

Lucy only rolled her eyes, as if he were spewing nothing but simple flattery. She had, after all, heard most of his lines.

Behind her, sensing her doubt, Natsu pouted, "I'm serious, Luce. I wouldn't trade a single day we have now for a thousand days of the past."

Stunned, Lucy blinked. Well, that had almost sounded…_romantic_. And coming from Natsu, of all people? Romance? That was one of the things she decided that she could deal with having the minimum of after marrying the world's densest dragon slayer. Because, come on, Natsu was about as romantic as a rock.

"Where'd you learn that one from?" She peered over her shoulder awkwardly to stare him down suspiciously. "Gildarts?" she guessed.

This time, it was Natsu's turn to blink in shock. Wow, she'd guessed correctly right off the bat. Smart girl.

He smiled sheepishly without denying her accusation, shrugging his shoulders.

"You're hopeless," she laughed, smacking his forearm as it tightened around her midsection. "But smart move for asking Gildarts," she admitted.

Not that she didn't find his words endearing, because they were, but knowing that they had derived from Gildarts—the man who couldn't count the number of women he'd had on four hands if he had that many—it was a little…less meaningful. But, hey, she'd give Natsu his props. After all, what man in Fairy Tail _hadn't_ gone to Gildarts for advice every now and then? Okay, so maybe Loke. But he didn't count since he and Gildarts were floating the same type of boat. Beside the point, Lucy supposed she would have done the same if she were romantically challenged, so, she could forgive him. He was making an effort, and, considering that it was Natsu, that went a _long way_.

Then, his nose was nuzzling into her hair and flesh at the back of her neck. "But, seriously, Lucy," he began again after a while, tone suddenly very, _very_ serious. "If I'd never known you, never heard your name…" he sighed, growing frustrated that there was no real easy was to say this. "I'd be looking for a woman like you."

Her heart dropped a beat. He sounded so sincere, so serious when he said that. It was very out of character for him. "Natsu," she murmured, looking over her shoulder at him again.

"You know I get sick of fishing, and that I'm terrible at poker. I'd probably ruin all of my extra pillows, lose my can of money, and you know I love watching you do yoga."

At this, Lucy emitted a small, strangled noise of embarrassment and lightly smacked his forearm again.

"I love your cooking the most, and I'd probably pick fights with the wrong people. Not to mention that I get tired of Gray, Laxus and Gajeel and that I would probably run out of laundry…And, I'd take this," he moved his hands so that she could see them and fingered the gold ring on his left ring finger, "over being a single man any day."

By the end, Lucy was close to tears. Words couldn't describe how moved she was.

"I just…" he paused, trying to think of the right thing to say. "I just don't know what I'd do if I'd never known you."

Lucy half-turned, breaking the hold he had on her body, before grabbing both sides of his face with her hands. "Shut up," she mumbled, cheeks stained with visible tear-tracks, before dipping to capture his mouth in a sweet, loving kiss.

Surprised, the dragon slayer only rumbled in appreciation, winding his strong arms around her body again—he was more than happy to accommodate Lucy when she was like this. She gave the best kisses when she was emotional.

"Oh, yeah, Lucy?" he managed to mumble between her kisses.

"Hm?" she replied, pulling back.

"Did I mention that I love the sound of your name?"

She paused for a brief second, sniffling, and then laughed. "Okay, moment ruined," she said, wiping her tears. "It was great until you decided to quote Gildarts at the end."

Natsu pouted again, disappointed that she managed to tell when he was using lines that Gildarts had given him to use. "I was telling the truth," he whined, puckering his lips for another kiss.

Lucy rolled her eyes again, planting a swift kiss on his nose. He wrinkled it in surprise. "Goodnight, Natsu," she laughed, turning over again.

He scoffed, mouth opening wide in disbelief. She was only going to give him a kiss? That was it? Usually, an emotional Lucy meant lots of…_comforting_. But she was only going to give him a kiss and say goodnight? How was that fair? The dragon slayer found himself pouting again at the unfairness of it all. So, in a last attempt to change her mind, he began running his hand up and down her side, caressing her hip bone in particular. The action was short lived. Lucy grabbed his hand before muttering in a warning tone,

"_Goodnight,_ Natsu."

He sighed in defeat.

* * *

_**Yeah, short. But sweet. Besides, I lost all my other data! I had like five other chapters all planned out. Gone. T.T I just about died inside. Anyway, review! Don't be the person that hits the favorite button without reviewing! So clicky de button, the one right underneath this sentence. You know you want to.**_


	3. I Only Think of You

_**Gahhhh! Did you all see chapter 292? Geez...I had total writers block for this, and then, after I read that chapter, this just flowed! I was kind of upset that Natsu didn't go more berserk (I really, really wanted to see that.) But, I liked the way that he expressed his concern through his 'serious faces' throughout the chapter. I'm so looking forward to him kicking Sting's ass though, because that bastard is way too cocky for his own good. Ticks me off. Rawr. But anyway, this is just a little bit that is set between when they choose their conjoined Team Fairy Tail and when said team makes their appearance to the crowd on the battle field. Hope you enjoy :)  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter 3:** I Only Think of You  
_

_**Rated: **T  
_

* * *

_As the flames wash around me,_

_I only think of you,_

_I only want to save you,_

_But I've done all I can do._

* * *

She was asleep. Alive and breathing, but battered and asleep. And Natsu could only stare into the distance, imagining that scene in his head over and over again. Lucy being kicked, being punched, being ruthlessly tortured by Minerva. Him standing there, helpless, watching, anger rolling off of him in tangible waves. All he had been allowed to do at the time was sit there…sit there and clench his fists in anger.

Natsu glanced down at his folded hands. They had numerous half-moon incisions covering the palms, some with dried blood crusting around the edges.

How many times had Erza and Gray forcibly subdued him during that match? More times than he had cared to count. Time after time, Natsu had tried to leap over the railing and onto the battle ground. His hands had constantly been flaming with fury, just itching to bury themselves in the face of a member of Sabertooth's guild. He had been so attentive, so angry, so ready to defend Lucy, and yet, he hadn't been allowed to do anything. It had been frustrating. More than frustrating. And Natsu had found himself even angrier because of that fact. He'd been forced to stand there, brooding silently, eyes blazing and his body rapidly escalating in temperature. At one point, he'd accidentally melted part of the railing when he'd leaned over the edge, much to other spectators' chagrin.

And when Minerva had held Lucy up like some sort of trophy to her sick, twisted game, his control had snapped. He hadn't even waited for the match to be called and he had shook off Erza's grip on his bicep to jump down below and race to Lucy's rescue. Of course, Gray had been hot on his heels for support. But Natsu ignored everything else that happened at that time, he hadn't heard the match be called, he hadn't heard the cries for the medical squadrons, he hadn't heard Minerva's mocking scoffs—he'd only had sight of Lucy, tumbling to the ground in a bloody, bruised heap. So when he'd successfully captured the mage in his arms, felt her cold, wet skin against his own burning with anger, when he'd noticed that Gray, too, had had a hold on her, only _then_ had Natsu felt the need to round on her attacker with his fangs bared.

He'd been so ready. So ready to tackle that vixen and beat her black and blue—as un-chivalrous as it sounded. And when that fucker, Sting, had dared to defend Minerva, his eyes laughing, a smirk donning his cocky face, Natsu had almost lost himself. He'd been beside himself with raging fury like he had never felt before. Only Erza, who Natsu had known was almost as angry as he was, had managed to stop him from his rampage with a single stiff arm. And though she hadn't allowed any physical attack, she'd made her declaration of war very, _very_ disturbingly clear.

Fairy Tail was going to make it their first priority to completely destroy Sabertooth and every twisted thing that they stood for. Natsu was sure that he would see that fact through till the end. He was going to get revenge, for Lucy's sake—he was going to make sure that Sabertooth would regret that they ever even thought about harming his nakama in such a way. It was a promise to himself that he had made.

And everyone else in the room had made, it seemed. The infirmary was crowded with people—Grandeeney, Wendy, Laxus, Gray, Erza, Juvia, Gajeel, Mirajane, Cana, Natsu _and_ Happy—and yet, with so many people, the room had never felt more empty. No one dared to speak or even open their mouths, they could only stare at the floor or at the occupied cot just across from Natsu.

But finally, there was a sniffle—the first sound other than breathing.

"Gray-sama…" Juvia's worried voice quivered, disrupting the uncomfortable silence in the room. "Juvia is sorry…so sorry…" She covered her mouth and nose with cupped hands, keeping a batch of tears at bay.

The ice mage gulped, muttering, "Juvia?" Gray met her downcast, tear-filled eyes, inching a hand towards her. "What are you apologizing for?"

"Juvia was there…Juvia was right _there,_ Juvia should have been paying better attention…Juvia should have helped Lucy when she had the chance instead of eliminating other teams, Juvia shouldn't have let herself be defeated so easily…for that, Juvia is _sorry._" The water mage was in tears at the end, her voice blubbering and nearly unintelligible. "Juvia and Lucy are supposed to be _friends,_ and yet…" Juvia cut herself off with a sniffle.

Gray sounded completely astonished when he said, "Juvia, don't think for even a second that this is your fault. We were all there, we all should have interfered when we noticed the battle going sour…even if we would have been disqualified for it."

Juvia nodded silently, and the rest of the people in the room let the heavy statement fall onto their shoulders.

"Gray's right," Laxus rumbled, his voice carefully contained. "It was a mistake on our part." He glared down at the floor, envisioning Sabertooth's team in his mind, all of them wearing smug grins. "But…" he growled, continuing, "that still doesn't mean that Sabertooth had any right to do what they did. We're going to give them back what they gave us tenfold."

Determined glances were shared around the room.

"'Bout time we kicked some ass," Gajeel grumped from the corner. He let out a low snarl, obviously craving a fight, and when he bared his teeth, the iron dragonslayer half expected Natsu to follow suit in revived gusto.

Only…Natsu didn't. He still sat, perched, on his stool, staring at Lucy while she slept, fisting and un-fisting his hands every once in a while. Natsu was still angry, still brooding. And though he kept silent, everyone in the room knew that out of all of them, he was the one who wanted a fight with Sabertooth the most now. He wanted revenge.

But the stony, statue-like mage stiffened further when the patient beneath the crisp, white sheets stirred.

"I'm sorry…" a soft voice hiccuped.

Natsu's hard stare into oblivion broke and he glanced down at Lucy, laying on the white bed in the medical ward. She sniffed, wincing, and reached up to try and wipe away some of her stray tears.

"We'll…leave now," Erza said quietly.

"What?" Gray hissed. "Leave? Why should—"

"Erza's right, Gray-san," Wendy whispered. Her dark blue eyes flickered to Natsu, hunched over on his stool, and then to Lucy, still trying to hold back her sniffles.

And that was when Gray understood. Lucy was trying to hold back her tears in front of everyone…she didn't want them all to see her cry.

"What about Natsu?" Gray asked, eyeing the dragonslayer.

"Lucy could use some comfort from a friend…" Erza told him simply, her voice low. "He's one of the only people to have ever seen her cry."

This fact silenced Gray, and he spared his rival one last glance before heaving a tired sigh. Erza was right. Lucy needed Natsu right now more than anything—Natsu was her rock, her support in times of distress; it was a fact that everyone in the guild was very aware of.

One by one, the mages of Fairy Tail solemnly left the ward. Some casting backward glances over their shoulders, some storming out in rage, and others in tears. The door clicked shut minutes later, leaving Lucy and a brooding Natsu alone.

She let a broken hiccup escape. "I'm sorry…" she whispered again. "I couldn't…win…" Lucy scrubbed at her face with her palms, wincing and twitching when she rubbed her bandages the wrong way. "I even let her…_disarm_ me…I failed…"

"You didn't fail." It was the first time Natsu had spoken in a while, and he closed his eyes tightly. "You did well…you came in second place." He opened his eyes, warmth in their depths that had been absent as of late, and laid a gentle hand on top of Lucy's ratty, blonde hair. Natsu stroked her head, comforting the crying girl. "Good job," he murmured.

But, for some reason, this only made Lucy break out into loud sobs. "Natsu…" she whimpered pitifully.

"Don't worry," Natsu said, his voice dropping in key. "We'll get them back for what they did to you, I promise. They won't get away, I'll kick their asses till they beg for mercy."

Lucy shivered, brown eyes wide and blinking away tears. Natsu was hardly ever that…deadly serious. She'd only seen him like this maybe once or twice.

"And then I'll make them apologize to you, especially Minerva."

"Minerva…" Lucy murmured, feeling ice trickle through her veins at the thought of the cruel woman. "She's…watch out for her, Natsu…she's strong." She wiped her eyes, flinching when she accidentally pressed against a very prominent bruise.

"No, she's a coward who likes to torture her opponent for the fun of it, just like the rest of Sabertooth." Natsu forced himself to keep from ranting any further. He could go on and on about Sabertooth and about how badly he wanted to march into that guild right this very second and wipe every single last one of them out.

He wanted to do it so badly. His body itched to do it, to ignite and blaze and dominate and teach those cowards a lesson for messing with something that was his. Fury boiled in his stomach. How dare they mock his Lucy that way, how dare they call her trash. How. Dare. They.

"Natsu…"

He blinked, startled. And he faced Lucy. "Sorry, got lost in thought," he said.

"You scorched the stool…" she sniffed.

"Eh?" Natsu looked down at the wooden stool he was sitting on, surprised to see most of it charred black, ready to collapse. "Sorry, I got so angry that I must have…"

Lucy was staring at him wearily, her eyes half-glazed and tired, her skin sallow and turning ugly shades of blue and purple. Guilt slammed into him. Not anger, or sadness or even pity…but guilt, of all things. And Natsu immediately knew why.

He hadn't saved her when she had needed him the most. He'd sat there and watched her be bullied and tortured.

"Lucy…I'm sorry," he choked. "I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner…I should've…_we_ should've…" Natsu trailed off. He didn't know what to say anymore.

"It's…not your fault," he heard Lucy whisper, her voice becoming coarse. She was getting ready to cry again, he knew. "The only one to blame is myself…if I hadn't underestimated her, if I had used my full strength from the start…maybe I wouldn't have lost as badly…" Her voice trembled as she continued, "but, I let her take my keys away, and I was completely powerless…I didn't stand a chance…it was only my fault."

Natsu watched with eagle eyes as she fingered the pouch next to her head on her pillow, tears leaking from the rims of her usually bright eyes.

"If only I was stronger…" Lucy murmured.

And Natsu felt a sting in his chest. But it was more than a sting, it burned and it ached as if there were flames on the _inside_ of his body, eating away at his heart. He hated that feeling. In his opinion, Lucy was plenty strong—for a girl at least. She was smart, confident and always had a plan in battle, not to mention that she had some kick-ass spirits that she could summon—though Loke didn't count; he was a bastard, still, in Natsu's opinion.

"If I was stronger, then I could have won…for Fairy Tail…I want to be able to protect our guild…" Lucy choked as a lump in her throat presented itself. She wheezed in an effort to keep from sobbing. "I wanted to protect Fairy Tail…I wanted to…"

And she had to stop, because the tears and the hiccuping made it too difficult to speak.

That burning in Natsu's chest intensified incredulously at the sight of the tears running down her grubby face and at the sound of her blubbering and whimpering. But the part that burned him the worst, was the knowledge that he couldn't do anything except sit there and watch, just like earlier. He could only watch.

"Lucy…" Natsu began. His eyes studied the cracks of the tiles on the floor, but his hands appeared to have a mind of their own as they wandered to the crown of her head, rubbing in circles and patting soothingly. "You don't need to protect Fairy Tail, because I'll do it…and I'll protect you too. So…don't cry anymore, I promise to protect you, Luce, I promise…"

…

Those were the words he had said to her in private before he had left to join the newly formed Team Fairy Tail. And that was one promise he intended to keep with his life. Because as he faced Sting, glaring, snarling, flames licking at his hands and face, he only had one person in mind, he was only thinking of one—Lucy. This was for Lucy.

"I'm all fired up."

* * *

_**Review! Rawr! Tell me what you think!**_


	4. Denial

_**Ok, well, I have no idea how I thought of this...it just sort of happened. And, man, am I glad it did! I had so much fun writing this, mainly because of Igneel's attitude. He's just so flippin' cute. Anyway, review! Really! I know who favorites and doesn't review, trust me, buddy, I've got my eye on you *stern look*. So review! Otherwise, I might just have to spam the next chapter with the word "please" thirty times in thirty different languages. I'm serious. So review! Rawr!**_

* * *

_**Chapter 4:**Denial  
_

_**Rated:**K+_

* * *

_My head won't admit what my heart already knows._

* * *

"Mamma, how did you know you loved Papa?"

In the middle of washing dishes, Lucy Dragneel halted, a flush creeping over her cheeks as she peered over her shoulder at her young son. She coughed, let the plate soak in the hot water and said, "Why do you want to know?"

The five-year old frowned, a pout marring his adorable face. "Because…" he muttered as he averted his mother's gaze.

"Because?" Lucy prompted with a raised brow.

He scowled at the floor this time and huffed, turning on his heel to hide his face. But the tint of red on his cheeks and around the shell of his ears was unmistakable. "Nothing," he mumbled.

His mother, however, drew in a gasp. "Igneel," she whispered, "do you have a…crush?"

"No!" he shouted, rounding on her. The boy's face was flaming pink, almost the exact same color of his hair, and his narrowed brown eyes only gave it all away. Igneel Dragneel most certainly _did_ have a crush.

"Who is she?" Lucy asked excitedly, eyes sparkling. The young mother dashed to her son and knelt down until she was eye-level with him. "What's her name?" the celestial mage bubbled.

"Mamma! I said I didn't!" Igneel cried out. In a show of very obvious embarrassment, he crossed his arms defiantly and stared pointedly at the floor, secretly wishing said floor would swallow him whole. He really, really shouldn't have asked his mother about this sort of thing…whatever this sort of thing was. He didn't even know why he wanted to know, really.

"Is it…Fuyuki-chan?" Lucy murmured with a smile.

Igneel gave a sharp flinch. Bingo.

"So it _is_ Fuyuki-chan, I knew it, I knew it!"

"Mamma!" Igneel groaned, throwing his head back in a show of irritation. "Stop it," he whined.

"Oh, but just think of what Gray would do to you if he knew…" She shuddered, completely ignoring her son's fervent demand. "He's very protective of his little girl, you know. When you were born, it was hard for us to convince him to even let the two of you play together…and she hadn't even been born yet at the time," Lucy huffed in agitation, but a small, reminiscing smile splayed across her face.

"Mamma." Igneel tugged on the sleeve of her shirt, big brown eyes silently pleading for her to stop. Whenever she tended to take a stroll down memory lane, it usually ended up in her either crying, or demanding that she and his father have… "alone time"…whatever that meant.

However, Lucy, ever the stubborn woman, laughed. "Oh, right, right. Getting off topic. Now what was your question again?"

"Nothing."

"How I knew I was in love with your father, was it?"

"No."

"Hm, well, let's see…" Lucy trailed off softly, her eyes taking on that far off look they usually did when she was thinking about something. "I suppose I always knew that your father was…special," she conceded with a chuckle. "But I don't think I realized it was love until much, much later. A few years, in fact. Although, everyone else in the guild seemed to know we were in love with each other before we did; there were even betting pools going around on how long it would take the two of us to finally realize it."

Semi-interested now, Igneel, still pouting, turned his head to the side, muttering, "Really?"

"Yup." Lucy nodded with a large smile. "Your father and I both thought it was Mira at first, but the surprisingly thing was that it was actually Master who started the whole bid."

"Master?" Igneel echoed. Immediately, Igneel conjured up pictures of the current master, Laxus, scooping in piles of money and laughing uncharacteristically. From what Igneel had seen of the master, it just didn't fit.

"Oh, no, not Laxus. Master Makarov, the third master," Lucy corrected. "He was the master until shortly after you were born."

"That old geezer?" Igneel shouted, his eyebrows rising.

"Old geezer…" Lucy growled, inching a hand towards her son. She gave him a light tap on the head. "Don't call him that, it's disrespectful…seriously, just like your father." The blonde shook her head. "But anyway, how did I know I was in love?"

Igneel stayed silent, his cheeks flushing even brighter. He didn't like how his mother was stretching this out longer than it needed to be—she was definitely doing it on purpose, just to spite him.

"Well, my heart was always beating fast, so fast that I swore your father could hear it form a mile away."

Igneel clutched his hand to his chest, feeling for his heartbeat. It was normal now, but usually when he was anywhere near Fuyuki, it would escalate. But it wasn't because he _liked_ her or anything stupid like that; he was being _alert_. If Fuyuki didn't like someone who was too close to her, she tended to hit them. And, boy, did she hit _hard_.

"I was always very aware of what he was doing, even if he was across the room."

Igneel pondered on this for a brief moment. Well, he always watched Fuyuki, so he supposed he always knew what she was doing. Though, this was only because he had to keep a sharp tab on her in case she decided to pull a random prank on him or something. It _had_ been done before—she had, oh so sneakily, frozen just the hems of his pants to his chair, so that when he had stood, everything, including the chair, had followed suite.

"I always wanted to be near him. When we were sitting down or standing up, I wanted to be as close to him as possible."

Igneel flushed again—not from embarrassment or anything…it had just suddenly…gotten hot in the room. But anyway, why on Earthland would he _want_ to be close to Fuyuki? Sure, he just so happened to sit next to her quite often. But it wasn't like he _purposely_ found excuses to be the one closest to her or anything. It was only coincidence.

"I always got very jealous of your father spending time with other women, even if they were clients—don't you tell him that. He's got a big enough ego as it is."

Igneel frowned in contemplation. Jealousy? Bah. As _if_ he would get jealous when Fuyuki would hang out with other guys in the guild. It wasn't as if it _bothered_ him or anything. So what if she hung around some phony, goody-goody who liked to read and act all smart. So what if said Goody-Goody made her giggle. Igneel didn't care. At all.

"And I always blushed when your father talked to me. He used to think that he was getting me sick all the time."

Well, that was an obvious one, Igneel thought. He never blushed. Ever. As Elfman-san had told him, real men didn't blush! If he went red in the face, it was because Fuyuki had done something stupid and he was trying not to laugh. It wasn't as if he turned red when she looked at him with those big, hu—…_normal_ blue eyes of hers. Or when she twirled her pretty…plain black hair around her finger. Because he didn't. Ever.

Lucy glanced down at her son, seeing him scuff his shoe on the floor multiple times. "Did that help any?"

"What?" Igneel threw his head up, startled. "Oh, uh, no. It didn't."

"What didn't help?" a voice bellowed excitedly, followed by the sound of a slamming door. Thundering footsteps echoed throughout the hallway before a young man in his twenties barreled around the corner, an electrified smile lighting up his cheery face. "Lucy, I'm home!" he cheered, grinning.

"Natsu," Lucy exclaimed, jumping up. "You weren't supposed to be back until tomorrow morning," she said as she gave him a speculative once-over. His clothes were a bit tattered, and he had a few cuts and scrapes—nothing too major—and…he still had his shoes on. "Natsu," Lucy mumbled lowly, her usually warm eyes narrowing, "how many times have I told you to take off your shoes before coming inside?"

"Ah!" he shouted, head snapping down to stare at his feet. "Sorry, Luce," he chuckled, scratching the back off his head before reaching down to yank off his sandals.

"Geez, and I just swept too…" Lucy pouted as she crossed his arms.

Igneel watched the interaction with hidden interest. This was how his parents usually interacted—with his father doing something "stupid" and his mother yelling her brains out. Was that love? Well, if it was, it sure didn't look like it. Maybe this was the "adult love" his mother had tried explaining to him before. Igneel sighed, his brows furrowing.

His mother's sudden squeal caught his attention though.

"Natsu!" Lucy shouted. "What are you—"

Igneel watched as his father effortlessly swept Lucy up into his arms, effectively trapping her with his biceps of steel. Lucy thrashed, kicking, and hollering warnings of, "if you don't put me down right now, I'll…" and other things of that nature. And just when Igneel thought he would have to intervene, he saw his father duck his head to steal a quick kiss from Lucy.

And everything stilled.

Igneel swallowed. His father was a brave, brave man. Igneel knew his mother had a temper, and when she was angry, she was usually livid. People usually tended to just let her rant it out sometimes, but not Natsu. Natsu always had the peculiar way of calming her. "Adult love", his parents liked to call it. Ugh. Igneel shuddered. His parents were gross sometimes.

"I missed you, Luce," Natsu said simply, smiling as he set Lucy down on her feet.

She wobbled for a brief second, catching herself in the next, and straightened. She coughed, squaring her shoulders, and tried to contain the light blush dusting her cheeks. "I…missed you too…idiot."

Igneel blinked. One second his mother was ranting and kicking, and the next she was stumbling and blushing and acting like a gooey mess? Was there some sort of trick to that? Or was it something only his father could accomplish? Igneel didn't know, and quite frankly, he assumed that he was too young to fully understand it anyway. But, despite that train of thought, there was a small suspicion in the back of his mind. Maybe it was a secret technique or something… if so, he was _so_ going to learn it in the future. He'd be able to weasel his way out of anything.

The child grinned devilishly.

"What's that smile for?" Natsu suddenly asked. He squatted next to Igneel, a curious light in his green eyes as he searched his son for the answer.

"What?" Igneel coughed, jerking back into the present. "Oh, uh…nothing, Papa."

Natsu cocked his head to the side, almost as if he didn't believe the young boy.

"Actually, Natsu," Lucy began with a Cheshire-like grin, "Igneel has a crush!"

"He does?" Natsu reeled back in surprise.

Panicking, Igneel spluttered, glaring at his mother with a red face—from anger, he told himself. "I do not!"

"On who?" Natsu asked Lucy, staring up at her from his squatting position on the floor.

"On Fuyuki-chan!" the young woman replied chirpily.

"Mama! I said I didn't!"

Natsu fell back completely on his haunches, shock coating his entire facial expression. "On…Gray's kid? _That_ Fuyuki?" he asked.

"The one and the same," Lucy all but sang, smiling. She sighed dreamily. "Oh, just imagine it, Natsu. Our little Igneel and Fuyuki-chan…"

"Gray's gonna kill me…" Natsu groaned dejectedly as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," Lucy sighed with a roll of her chocolate-brown eyes.

"I'm not being melodramatic!" Natsu yelped, eyes wide. "Did you see what Gray did to the father of that one kid who gave Fuyuki a lollipop on Valentine's Day?" The dragonslayer shuddered as he recalled the incident that had happened just the year before, when Fuyuki was only four.

Lucy paused, as she too remembered. "Well…Gray likes us, so we should get off easy," she said after a while.

"Luce, he froze the poor guy frozen solid! In public! And then walked away!"

She fell silent at this, pondering quietly. When suddenly, she broke into a genuine grin and said, "Ah, well, then good luck, Natsu."

"_Lucy…_" he whined pitifully, eyes pleading for help.

"Mamma! Papa!" Igneel shouted, red-faced from embarrassment—and from being ignored as they launched into their own conversation about his crush that he most certainly did _not_ have. "I said I don't have a crush!" Pouting, the young boy took off in the direction of his room, leaving behind his stunned parents.

His mother stared after him, a knowing smile donning her lips. And then, she remembered something. "Oh," Lucy mumbled as she pressed her index finger to her chin. "I forgot…I didn't tell him the most obvious sign." She let out a dejected sigh.

"Sign? What sign?" Natsu echoed.

"I always denied it," it was half-mumbled with a reminiscent look.

"Denied what?"

"Oh, nothing…"

* * *

_**And I loved the subtle NaLu parenting fluff, teehee. Anywhoser, review! Or my threat will carry out! Rawr!**_


	5. Like Father, Like Son

_**Okay, wow, it's been a long time since I updated this... Geez. I guess I'm just a little busy with Adherence XD If you haven't started reading it, by the way, you should :) Some of the future chapters of ATT will probably be based off of it! Anyway, I hope you'll excuse the terribly long pause between chapters! But, I hope this makes it all okay! Cute!Igneel, NaLu parenting fluff and more!  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter 5:** Like Father, Like Son  
_

_**Rated:** T**  
**_

* * *

_Yeah, we're just alike, _

_Hey, ain't we, dad?_

* * *

The first thing that Igneel Dragneel realized on his way home that day, was that his mother was going to _kill_ him. Well, maybe not kill him, perhaps…but maim him, she would certainly do that. Especially if she was angry enough. And, by the heavens, he knew she would be angry enough as soon as he walked through the front door. See, she had this eerie way of knowing exactly when he was lying, and knowing exactly what he'd done and who he'd been with.

There was no lying around his mother—lying just didn't work.

So there was no real way for him to get out of the beating that would surely befall him. Unless, of course, his father stepped in. Although, this, Igneel thought, was quite far-fetched as his father was a wiser man than that—there was no person, save his Aunt Levy or Aunt Erza, who could get away with deliberately trying to halt his mother when she was on a rampage. Not even his father. But there had been rare cases as of late, where his father would soothe the suddenly irate woman with a few looks and a kiss to her temple. Sometimes it took more than that, though…like, holding hands, or—and he blanched at the thought—kissing on the _mouth_.

Ugh.

His parents were so gross.

Granted, they were still considered young—young being in their mid-twenties—and according to everyone else at the guild, they had quite a long time to go before their "lovey dovey" mush would be considered outdated and gross. And honestly, Igneel couldn't wait for that time to come. Lately, they'd been so "lovey dovey" and sweet that Igneel swore he was getting _toothaches_ from watching them… In fact, just the day before, he had actually caught his parents having a tickle fight. A _tickle fight_…of all things! And then, not long after, he'd caught them kissing. _Again_. As if that weren't enough, though, they'd held hands afterwards and began whispering to each other and laughing and talking about weird things like "showers", "toys", and "babysitters"…

Double ugh.

Not that he didn't love his parents, though—he did, really; in fact, they meant the world to him…but he wouldn't be saying that aloud any time soon, especially around Fuyuki.

Ugh, again.

Fuyuki…

She was the whole reason he was in this mess to start with! It was all her fault. After all, just who went around and let themselves get bullied by the person they liked? Apparently Fuyuki. And, having their parents being close friends and all, Igneel had done what he'd thought was right. Now, whether or not his mother would see it in the same light as he did was another question entirely. But, for now, he was content with what he'd done—not sorry in the least.

The guys hadn't even been a challenge in the first place, they'd ran with their tails between their legs after he'd landed a single good hit. Jerks, the whole lot of them. And like his Uncle Elfman would have said, what kind of man picked on a woman?

Certainly, Igneel had played pranks on Fuyuki, but nothing too bad—and nothing that she hadn't paid back with interest. She'd never even cried, not even when he'd taken her favorite doll hostage, or when he'd melted her ice cream that one time during their summer trip to the beach—actually, she'd laughed at him because he'd actually gotten in trouble with his mother…and he'd been put on "time out". So…when she cried for those jerks earlier…

Igneel felt himself frowning.

Just where did she get off, crying like that when someone bullied her? She was better than that, he knew. They'd only taken her doll—nothing he hadn't done before—and taunted her—again, nothing he hadn't done before. And yet, the girl whom he'd never seen shed a single tear, unlike her mother, had broken down and bawled her eyes out. In public. To say that he'd been surprised was an understatement—but, above all else, he'd been angry. So angry.

And before he'd known it, he was pushing random kids down and swiping at them—taking a few hits of his own in the process. They'd been so surprised, hadn't even seen him coming, but he'd beaten them real good—leaving the leader, and Fuyuki's crush, in tears like the little wimp he was. He was proud of this. After all, it was his first fight, it was something for him to be proud of, right?

He had a feeling his father would agree.

He also had a feeling that his mother would vehemently disagree.

Igneel had heard, countless times, about his father's very first fight—and according to the man himself, he'd only been four and a half. Igneel was six. His father would probably say something along the lines of,

"Well, it's about time! You didn't lose, right?"

He snorted. Man, his dad was weird sometimes…

"Igneel…what happened?"

Shocked, the young child let his head draw upwards and he realized, with faint horror, that he was already home. In fact, he was standing in the middle of the kitchen, facing his immediately distraught mother, and his equally ecstatic father. Both swarmed him instantly, his mother's hand fluttering over the tender skin of his eye and the swelling of his cheek, fingering the tiny scratch above his eyebrow.

"Mama, I, uh…" He was at a loss for words. "It's…well…_ouch!_" But, when she pinched his cheek, testing the level of swelling, he became vocal enough to ease her initial worry.

Sighing, his mother let her hands fall and settled for crossing them across her apron-covered chest. "You got into a fight, didn't you?" she demanded in that way of hers that always left him—and anyone else unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of her wrath—shivering. Her eyes, which usually reminded him of hot chocolate, being all warm-like, were hardened like bark. She was angry. Really, _really_ angry. Of course, he'd been expecting that from the start.

Igneel gulped, taking a tiny step back from his mother. What was he supposed to say? What would be the right thing to say?

"…They started it."

Apparently, that was _not_ the right thing to say. Because his mother, who had been remotely docile, suddenly flew into a rage—her pale face was tinged pink, and angrily, she began waving her hands in the air.

"_Igneel Dragneel!_" Her tone was sharp. Even sharper than his Uncle Gajeel's favorite knives. "It doesn't matter _who started it_. What did I tell you about getting into fights?"

Half of him wanted to answer, but the other half knew better—it was a rhetorical question.

"I told you countless times that you should never, _ever_, under any circumstances—unless it's an official match, which, by the way, you are _still_ too young for, mister—fight with people! Do you know how dangerous that is? You could get hurt! In fact, you _are_ hurt. You're just lucky that it isn't any worse. Trust me, I've seen what real fights can lead to," she lectured, letting her eyes drift to his father who simply grinned in response and rubbed the back of his head in what was supposed to be a carefree manner. "I realize that people can be irritating, and that they can say mean things, but, you should _never_ pick a fight with them. You're a lot stronger than other boys your age, Igneel…you could really hurt someone without realizing it. Of course, your father and I know you would never purposely want to hurt someone, but, people can be bitter about accidents. What would have happened if something had gone wrong? What would have happened then?" She lifted a brow in question.

But he already knew the answer.

"Then I would have had to get involved, or your father, whichever of us got to the scene first. And while we most certainly would have taught those children, or their parents, a lesson they'd never forget, we'd also have to punish you just to be fair… Is that what you want?"

Submissively, he shook his head.

"I didn't think so… Now, go sit down and think about what you've done. I'll be right back with the first aid kit," his mother announced, rubbing a tiny space in between her nose and eyes. It was something she did out of habit when she was really stressed out or really tired. "And Natsu," she added, casting the other male a look, "do _not_ encourage him."

His father only grinned even wider, his teeth showing, and waved her away with a simple, "Okay, okay, Luce."

And Igneel dragged himself to a stool, wincing after he noticed a dull throb in his ankle. One of the boys he'd been fighting with had tripped over it and landed squarely on the bone, but it hadn't hurt at the time. Now, though, Igneel was wondering if maybe he'd sprained it.

His mother would not be happy about that.

The child of six years heaved a heavy sigh, letting his sore shoulders slump.

"So," his father started, a grin still plastered across his face. "What happened?" By the sound of his voice, he was incredibly eager and…not at all angry. Like Igneel had expected. Natsu joined his son at the table, pulling up a matching stool, and sat with a plop before rocking back.

"What do you mean?" Igneel asked, watching his father warily.

Natsu rolled his eyes, looking a bit exasperated. "The _fight,_" he stressed, voice soft and eyes darting to the hallway, keeping a lookout for the woman of the house who would not appreciate his subtle encouragement.

Igneel blinked. "Oh…" he mumbled under his breath, swinging his legs absentmindedly. "Well… I saw some guys picking on Fuyuki, and they made her cry…"

"Whoa," Natsu gasped as he reeled back with surprise, chair squeaking from the motion. "She cried? Gray's kid _cried?_" A devilish smirk descended upon his lips without warning and the dragonslayer cackled. "Oh, just wait till I tell him. Who's kid is the toughest now, eh, stripper?"

Igneel ignored this, shaking his head. He would never, not even in a thousand years, understand the rivalry between his father and his uncle… And according to all the adults in the guild, they'd been that way—ready to tear each other apart and then laugh about it—since they'd been kids, since they'd been his age. That was a mighty long time to keep a rivalry, Igneel knew.

With a cough to draw his father's attention again, he continued, "Yeah, they made her cry. And I…I don't know," he sighed. "I got really mad… Is that normal?"

Natsu stalled in his chair, taking in the pitiful look the smaller Dragneel was emanating. His head was down, brown eyes that were an eerie mirror of his mother's shimmering with emotions that he couldn't understand, and he was subconsciously gnawing on his fattened-from-the-fight lip. The only possible way that the boy could have looked any cuter would have been if he were a girl, and Natsu drew the line there. No son of his would be deemed "cute" as long as he had a say in it… Gray would never let him live it down…

"Of course it is," Natsu then replied sagely. "She's your _nakama,_ it's your job to protect her."

To this, Igneel let his brow furrow in apparent confusion. "So…it's my job to keep her from crying?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yep!" was the quick reply.

The room quieted after this, settling into an almost uncomfortable silence that left the youngest Dragneel squirming in his chair. He was supposed to be deep in thought, he supposed. But, what was there to think about? He still didn't quite understand this whole "protecting" thing… Did it mean that he was just supposed to beat people up who made his friends cry? Igneel chewed his lip in thought. No, it didn't—or at least, he hoped it didn't. That would make him seem like a bully, wouldn't it? The last thing he wanted was to be a bully, like the people who had picked on Fuyuki earlier. And, besides that, according to his mother, fighting and beating up people was _wrong_—unless it was a challenge or a refereed match.

"I don't…understand…" Igneel finally muttered.

Natsu blinked.

"How am I supposed to protect my friends if Mama says I can't fight?"

The dragonslayer felt his brows furrowing at the question, a frown forming on his lips as he brought up a finger to his chin in contemplation. It was a good question, Natsu thought, a really good one. In fact, he wasn't quite sure how to answer it, exactly, in a way that his son would understand—and also in a way that Lucy wouldn't disapprove of. "Hm…" He used his other hand to scratch the crown of his head, ruffling pink hair and scrambling it from its already-mused appearance. "Well," he muttered slowly, eyes full of uncertainty, "Mama likes to use words to solve problems, like your Aunt Levy… It's safer." Natsu felt his nose wrinkle at the term. "But, there are times when words just don't work, and there are times when there is no choice but to use your fists to solve issues," he relented, hoping that Lucy wouldn't be too mad with him later. He then added, with a childish grin, "I like those times the best."

"Why?" Igneel asked with a wince. He was finally starting to feel the pain in his face and his ankle… Boy, did it ever smart! His face especially.

"Because I'm no good with words, you know," Natsu chuckled, rocking back in his chair again. "That was always your mama's forte. I had always used my fists to solve my problems, and it always worked… Until I met your mama, of course."

Slowly, his eyes fixated on his father, Igneel blinked.

The older man continued on without a hitch, "She always got really mad when I accidentally blew up a few houses during a fight, or, if I accidentally set a few things on fire if I was mad. And, I remember that she would quickly take care of all of her problems with words—and maybe with the help of a few death threats… I never really understood it, but it worked. And it made the people around us happy when she used words—though that was mostly because we didn't have to pay for damages." Suddenly, though, there was a darker look in his eyes and a firmness to his lips that usually wasn't there, as if he were remembering things. "But…there were times when your mama's words had no effect and we had to resort to fighting. Protecting her was my top priority, then, because she was important to me," Natsu finished, the firmness melting away into a soft grin. "And like my dad said when I was growing up, you should always protect the people who are important to you."

Igneel kicked his legs again, contemplating. He still didn't quite understand it…but it was a bit clearer, he supposed. "So…I should use words first? And then I should use my fists if it doesn't work?"

Natsu glanced down at his son, taking in the child's appearance. He had bruises all over, purple and yellow and blue, and he had cuts littering his usually clean face and hands, and it looked like there was some swelling around one of his eyes… And, never had Natsu felt prouder. He grinned. "Yeah, I guess that's what I was saying," he snorted, eyes twinkling.

"You should always use your words, no matter what," came Lucy's berating, but loving, voice as she entered the kitchen with a metal box held in her hands. She placed it on the table next to the stools where her husband and son sat, clicking her tongue in exasperation as she once again noted all of Igneel's wounds.

He looked so much like his father when he was covered in dirt and bruises. At this thought, her eyes strayed to Natsu, who was looking back at her with a goofy smile, and she felt herself smiling a little too.

Ah. What the hell. Like father, like son, no? It was futile trying to prevent what was probably encoded in the boy's genetics.

"But…if someone throws a punch at you first," Lucy said, lifting the tin lid to the first aid kit, "I expect you to defend yourself."

Bewildered, Igneel rounded on his mother with raw surprise in his voice when he said, "But you said I shouldn't fight with people…"

"True," she replied, removing a cotton ball and some peroxide. "Fighting is wrong, and should be avoided at all costs—which is why you use your words first." The blonde eyed him sharply, wanting him to get the point. He only winced, though, when she pressed a soaked cotton ball to his eyebrow. "But, like Papa said, sometimes, fighting is unavoidable. And while I don't want you getting hurt, I don't want you to be helpless either."

"So…_ouch,_" he whimpered, cringing from the sting of the medicine. "So, I should fight…?"

Now, he was downright, utterly confused.

Lucy sighed again, removing the dirtied cotton and smoothing a white bandage over the tiny wound with feather-light fingers. "Only after you've used your words, and only to protect your friends… Picking fights is still wrong, I'll have you know, and you're still in trouble for beating up those boys, but you did a good job of protecting your friend. And, for that, I'm very proud of you," she said warmly, patting his head in adoration.

Initially startled by the praise he was receiving from his mother—of all people—he grinned, teeth gleaming, and felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. But, then, the words of his mother sank into his mind and he frowned. Igneel lifted his gaze to meet his mother's, a stubborn look in his eyes. "Fuyuki isn't my friend," he declared.

"Oh, really?" Lucy lifted a brow, dotting another peroxide-soaked cotton ball across his face, dabbing at miniscule cuts that had probably come from twigs and blades of grass. She pulled back and reached for some bandages. "Is she your girlfriend, then?"

"_G-girlfriend?_" the six year old spluttered, face flaming up to the very roots of his pink hair. "No way! Never! Ew!" To show his very obvious distaste, he scrunched up his face—wrinkling the bandages in the process, much to his mother's chagrin—and twisted his mouth in a way that resembled a tremendously ill person. Igneel pretended to retch. "Mama, who would want _Fuyuki_ as a girlfriend? She's annoying…" he muttered.

Amused by her son's antics and obvious denial, Lucy nodded, murmuring, "I see, I see… I won't make that mistake again." She let herself giggle as she reached for his small hands and inspected them, turning them over in her larger ones and taking in the amount of dirt and grime laced underneath his stubby fingernails. Her soft fingers grazed over his dirty knuckles, trying in vain to rub away some of the dirt. "Go wash your hands, get all the dirt out from underneath your fingernails," she said after giving up.

"So…you're not mad at me?" he asked hesitantly, brown eyes wide.

Lucy blinked back at him with the same brown eyes before smiling, her mouth stretching from cheek to cheek, and letting them crinkle around the edges. "Mad? No, I'm not mad," she replied.

The grimy child grinned, pulling his hands back and hopped down from his stool. He winced, favoring his right ankle right after standing up straight, and Lucy frowned. He'd hurt his ankle… But, he didn't say anything else and hobbled to the bathroom around the corner with the biggest grin on his face.

So much like his father. Really, that was going to be a bit of a problem when he was older, she knew as she watched him. He was so headstrong, resilient, sweet and lovable—but it would eventually morph and he would begin to show that thick-headedness that his father was so well-known for. Not to mention, she could already tell that Igneel would be just as reckless—just as oblivious to feelings, too.

She sighed.

She was in for it.

"So, Luce, you changed your mind?" Natsu's teasing voice interrupted her thoughts.

Lucy turned to him, a rueful grin on her lips as she snapped the first aid kit shut. "No, I just realized that I couldn't prevent the inevitable," she mused, looking down at him as he sat on the stool, hands crossed behind his head, elbows high in the air with a grin on his face. "He's bound to get into fights—I couldn't stop that even if I wanted to… He _is your_ son after all."

Frowning, the dragonslayer let the legs of his stool fall back onto the floor with a _bang_. He looked up at his wife, brows furrowed in a way that mirrored their son's look of confusion perfectly. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a huff, feeling defensive.

"Nothing at all," Lucy laughed as her hands slowly fell to her stomach. They rested there, one of her hands drawing tiny circles over her covered naval. "You just better hope that _this one_ doesn't develop the same habits as you." The blonde winked at the fire mage, a smile still freely pulling at her full lips.

Natsu lifted a brow, his green eyes sparkling. "Oh?" he challenged. The dragonslayer, with a smirk, rose from his stool and stood as his full height, a full head taller than her, before letting his own gruff, tanned hands join hers. Softly, he rubbed her stomach, though it was still flat and not as pudgy as he knew it would become within the next few months.

Lucy giggled at the action.

"What if he turns out exactly like me?"

She snorted. "_She,_" the blonde corrected haughtily. "And she won't, because she'll be the sweetest little angel."

Natsu, a hand straying from its goal of rubbing, prodded her in the side, earning a shrill yelp in response that made him snicker. "She?" he repeated incredulously with amusement in his brice-colored eyes. "Who says it's a girl?"

"I do," Lucy told him, turning her nose up in a posh manner.

"And how do you know?"

Lucy leaned forward, pressing herself against her husband with a grin and trapping their hands between their bodies. "Hm…mother's intuition, I'd say."

He snorted, blowing air through his nose, as he, too, leaned closer. He rested his chin on the crown of Lucy's golden head. "Doesn't father's intuition count for anything?" he asked, feigning the hurt in his voice.

"Not when you're the father," Lucy teased. She brought up a hand to poke him in the side.

Natsu snorted again, holding back a chuckle in his throat. "Oi," he groused, pricking her in the side with his own finger.

A yelp. A snicker. A slap. A giggle. A poke. Another poke. More pokes. Laughter.

…

Igneel, his hands still wet from vigorously scrubbing them underneath the tap, peered around the corner of the hallway after hearing strange shrieking sounds. He'd first heard them all the way in the bathroom, soap lathering his hands, and he thought he'd heard wrong—maybe the volume of the water gushing from the tap was messing with his hearing. But, after he'd heard a solid _thunk_, felt it vibrate through the floorboards, he'd known something was up.

He just hadn't expected…_this_.

Seeing his parents rolling around on the floor of the kitchen, laughing, their faces flushed red, and their hands mercilessly jabbing at one another. It was _another_ tickle fight. His mother, her brown eyes holding that gooey-warmth to them again, was sitting atop his father and she was tossing her head back as he continuously ran his fingers up and down her sides.

Igneel blanched.

Ew. Ew, ew, _ew_. His parents were so gross.

Gagging audibly, the six year old turned his eyes away, oblivious to the fact that both of his parents had noticed his presence and were now laughing at his reaction. He snorted.

Well, he was sure of one thing at least. While he may have fought like his father, he was _not_ going to be as mushy when he grew up. "Lovey dovey". Ugh. His parents were gross.

* * *

_**Ahhh, I'm dying from feels over here... Why did I do this to myself?! Now I'm craving Future!NaLu... Gah. Oh well. Guess that just means I'll have to write some more and get it out of my head, then, ne? Anywhoser. Tell me what you think! I worked pretty hard on this, trying to keep both Natsu and Lucy in character and still have them seem a bit more mature since they're parents. Did it work out okay? Let me know in a review! I always look forward to those, they encourage me like nothing else :) Also, what do you guys think of Igneel?**_


	6. Mirror

_**HOLY CRAP, YOU GUYS. I SO CALLED THAT CHAPTER, YOU HAVE NO IDEA! *SPOILER*When we first saw Hood Girl, I just somehow KNEW that it was Lucy. I don't know why, but I did. And I was further convinced when she started crying after watching Natsu battle (because, hello, she's seeing him, ALIVE, when he'd probably...gone in the future)! But, I was a bit confused when Jellal saw her, it threw me for a loop. After all, why such a reaction? From his face, I suddenly wondered if it was, like, Grandeeny or something... But, anyway. THIS CHAPTER. Save my poor shipper heart before it explodes! She was crying! Seeing Natsu again made her cry! A part of my just wants to smash Lucy and Natsu togehter and be like, "Now...KISS!". Mashima-sensei...you troll. *END SPOILER*  
**_

_**Ahem. After reading that chapter, I just HAD to write this, the idea juice was overflowing. Now, just know, that this is in NO WAY CANON. This is taking the recent chapter and making a prediction/educated guess on how the next chapter will turn out. Please do not ask me if the conversation between Lucy and Natsu in the end is canonical :) It's just my imagination, but, who knows, maybe Mashima-sensei will grant my bitter-sweet fantasy...  
**_

_**ONWARD!  
**_

* * *

_**Chapter 6: **Mirror  
_

_**Rated: **K+ (SPOILERS FOR 312)**  
**_

* * *

_Mirror, I am seeing a new reflection._

* * *

"_Lucy?_"

The hooded woman stood before Natsu and Lucy, trembling, tears streaming down her cheeks with dirty, bare feet and shimmering chocolate eyes that were eerily similar to the blonde gawking to Natsu's right. The stranger was…older, the dragonslayer could tell simply by her eyes, and yet she was still undeniably…_Lucy_. But that was impossible, Natsu knew, because Lucy was standing _right next_ to him. Had been for the whole day, the whole damn _week!_

Who the hell was this imposter wearing Lucy's face?

Just as he was about to demand this, the imposter did something that sent Natsu reeling back in surprise: she _looked_ at him. But not just in any way, she looked at him in such a Lucy-esque way—she was biting her bottom lip, trying not to sniffle, tears flowing freely down her fresh face—that a flicker of doubt quickly made him reconsider. He felt nervous sweat gathering on the back of his neck and his mouth suddenly felt kind of dry… Maybe she really was Lucy…

What on Earthland was going on?

Beside him, _his_ Lucy was reaching for his arm. Her hands tightened around his forearm like a coiling snake as she asked, "Who are you?" The question quivered in the air as it echoed everyone else's thoughts.

The woman turned her sights from Natsu to Lucy and let a small smile grace her full lips that were thinned out of worry. That smile of hers was incredibly bitter. "As you suspected," she murmured softly, "I am Lucy Heartfilia."

"D-don't joke around like that!" the real Lucy shouted, backing away further. When her small hands tightened, once again, on Natsu's strong forearm, he stepped further in front of her and lifted his arm to serve as a barrier. "How can you be…_me?_ You're not my counterpart from Edolas… So, unless you're from…the…" But Lucy suddenly stopped, her eyes growing ever wider, and her hands turning white-knuckled on Natsu's arm.

He almost winced from the amount of strength she used.

"That's right," the woman answered softly as her eyes closed. "I'm…from the future."

Silence fell over the stunned troupe, and while there should have been protest roiling out of Natsu's mouth like a gushing volcano, there were none… This woman…this, older-Lucy, was still in fact, _Lucy_… They looked the same, smelled the same… He inhaled, as if to check this, and felt no twinge of disappointment when the familiar scent of Lucy assaulted his nose—she was indeed Lucy Heartfilia, there was no mistake.

"How is that possible?" Mira whispered from the back. "Time travel…"

But, at the same time as the barista asked this, Yukino released an astonished gasp. All eyes turned to her when she said, "You used the Eclipse Door…"

Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy, being the only three besides Yukino who truly understood what that meant, shared knowing looks. The Eclipse Project…the Daimatou Enbu…

Loke, feeling incredibly left out and confused, mumbled, "Eclipse Door?"

"When the twelve Celestial Spirit Gate Keys are gathered," older-Lucy began, her tone wise, "it is possible to summon a magic great enough to open the door of time, the Eclipse Door." Her brown eyes met their mirrored version, causing the younger girl to bite her lip in anxiety, before they dragged to meet brice-green.

How she missed that color… She'd never been able to find an exact replica of that eye-color, never. And here she was, seeing it again after so long…

"You have all twelve keys," the young Lucy murmured dazedly. "And if you're really me, then that means that I eventually gain all of the keys?" Despite the confusion in the air, and the foreboding mystery of this visit, Lucy smiled brightly. After all, her dream had been accomplished—technically by her older self, but it still counted.

In the back, Yukino's face remained impassive.

"…Yes," older-Lucy responded slowly, guardedly.

This made Natsu frown. She was hiding something, he realized faintly. Even though she was older, she hadn't changed all that much—he could still clearly tell when she was trying to avoid something, hide something, cover it up entirely. Secrets…he hated when she kept secrets from him, future-self or not.

"Why are you here?" he asked suddenly.

Lucy in the cloak, her bare legs shivering, chewed on her bottom lip at the sound of his voice. It really sounded just like it had all that time ago… She had started to worry that she would eventually forget exactly how his voice sounded—rough, warm, a bit gravelly, with a timbre that made her insides tremble. She missed his voice… She missed his voice, his touch, his smile, his idiocy, she missed him entirely. Every inch of him. The tears were back again…

Natsu drew back with a surprised intake of breath when he saw water glistening in her eyes again, liquid crystal that smelled like salt. Shit, he hadn't meant to make her _cry!_ Dammit, even if she was older he still hated to see her cry… "O-oi," he called out hesitantly, a hand reaching out to her.

Natsu wasn't sure what he expected her to do—she had proved to be a little more unpredictable than her younger counterpart—maybe take his hands, maybe shove him away, maybe dry her tears and steel her resolve. Any of those options seemed fairly plausible to him, seeing as that it was how his Lucy tended to react when she cried. However…what he _hadn't_ expected was for the older Lucy to suddenly leap at him, cling to his chest like a terrified child, and sob into his shoulder.

"Oi!" he spluttered at her in astonishment. His Lucy had never been so bold!

But he didn't push her away. Instead, he let her nestle into his ripped clothes, soak her salty-smelling tears into his tanned skin, and clutch onto the fabric covering his back. She was holding onto him like he was a life-line...with one arm, he realized faintly in the back of his mind.

"H-hey," Lucy, _his_ Lucy, squeaked, her face a brilliant shade of red. She was sure that she would never, ever, do anything like that to Natsu in her lifetime… It was far too embarrassing. But, apparently, her older-self thought differently on the matter.

The Lucy from the future gave a long sniffle before pulling back hesitantly and wiping her eyes with the backs of her left hand. "Sorry, I…I just couldn't help myself," she said. Pulling her cloak tighter around her body, she went on to say, "I just missed you, Natsu…"

And he was confused, thoroughly so. "Eh? Why? Don't you have your own me to hang out with in the future or something?"

Suddenly, future-Lucy stilled, her lips thinning again, her brown eyes, a mirror of the ones that he so loved to see sparkle with warmth and clarity, dulled significantly. She looked down at her hand, clutching it to the cloth of her hooded robe and squeezing. "…No, I don't."

It was hard to hear, but her statement had been made—and though it had been so quiet, it left behind the weight of a heavy-artillery explosive. A bomb. She didn't have a future-Natsu to hang out with…which meant…

"Natsu…doesn't exist in the future?" his Lucy asked with pain laced in her voice.

Hearing it was like having a knife driven through the center of his chest, or rather, right through his beating heart. He didn't exist in the future. He…didn't exist. If he didn't…exist, then that meant that he, at some point…died.

"A lot of people don't exist in the future any longer." Older-Lucy was barely keeping herself together as she bridged her left arm across her chest to hug her own right shoulder. "It's…why I'm here. I'm here to save the future, to prevent a disaster from taking place. If I…if I don't succeed…everyone will…everyone will…" Here, she had to stop, because the tears were relentless and they were dribbling down her cheeks and into her mouth, tasting as bitter as they felt falling from her eyes. She hated crying.

Natsu could only stare. Even though she was from the future, she was still Lucy, and seeing her like this, seeing her cry, seeing her shake uncontrollably, seeing her so sad…it broke something inside of him. It…frustrated him, really, because he had sworn to keep her safe, to protect her, because she was important to him. Apparently, he wouldn't be able to make good on that promise. And it frustrated him.

"I can't tell you everything about the future," the crying blonde mumbled around her tears, "but I can tell you this… Today, the biggest disaster Earthland has ever seen will take place, and it will be…devastating. People will lose their lives, very few will survive and the future of this outcome is…_terrible_. It's so, _so_ lonely…" Again, she wiped at her eyes, blinking brown orbs that had renewed their will. "I would have come to the past sooner, but, the Door opens if, and only if, I have all of the keys and the sun and the moon are aligned; which only happens once in every seven years."

"Seven years…" Natsu muttered to himself. That would place her at…her mid-twenties, he thought faintly—she was still pretty, hadn't changed since she'd been a teen, but there _were_ worry-lines, now that he was looking for them.

"It was…hard, living without my _nakama_ for so long, and seeing you all here now…it's so nostalgic." At this, she turned to Natsu, and smiled. "You look just as I remember you, sound just like I remember you, and you even feel just like I remember you…"

The younger of the two Lucy's had a fair blush breaking across her cheeks. She couldn't believe her older self was actually admitting all of that stuff. Sure, Lucy found that she liked the way he looked, sounded and felt, but she had sworn to the high heavens that she would never, ever tell him that. Ever. He would have laughed at her, she knew.

"And this time, instead of being helpless, I came to rescue all of you. I came to save the future, and for that, I'll need your help… Please, everyone, won't you help me?" She looked up at them all, her eyes hardened, serious and demanding; and every inch of the Lucy that they were all so accustomed to.

The answer she received was a snort from Natsu before his first erupted into a blaze of light and heat. He was grinning back at her—a sight that she had so sorely missed for all those years—when he said, "Of course, Luce."

"_Natsu! No! You can't…I won't let you!"_

"_You have to go, I'll be fine!"_

"_No, you won't! You're going to die and you know it! Please! Don't!"_

"_I'm doing this for you, Lucy, for Fairy Tail, and for Earthland… Guess that makes me a hero, eh?"_

"_Natsu…"_

"_Go on!"_

"…_Promise me you'll be okay!"_

"_Of course, Luce."_

She cried again.

It was like a mirror, reflecting her past, and now her future. But now, now it would be different, now she would be the one to save everyone. Now, it was her turn to protect her friends, now, it was her turn to protect Natsu.

* * *

_**Short, I know, but hey. Give a sick girl credit. Speaking of being sick... ANNOUNCEMENT: I'll make this short of blunt and to the point. I have pneumonia, guys, and while it's not exactly life-threatening (right now, at least) I still feel terrible... Those of you who've had pneumonia can probably vouch for this, it's AWFUL. Now then, this will probably be my last update until the winter holiday season is over... D: I know, I'm sorry, but I've been confined to a bed and I'm undergoing constant breathing therapy; I won't exactly have time to update. I'll keep writing though, probably in the "notes" tab on my phone, but hey, it works. This goes to Adherence to, for those of you who read my Fairy Tail fullfic. END ANNOUNCEMENT.**_

_**On another note... MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS! (Even to those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I still wish you a wonderful Christmas and a very lovely winder holiday season, along with whichever holiday you choose to celebrate :)) I hope none of you are sick like I am and that you are happy, safe and loved during the holidays! Have fun, enjoy yourselves!  
**_

_**Oh, and review. A wonderful Christmas present for me would be for you all to review :)  
**_


End file.
